US, NATO summon Russians for interacting with diplomats abroad

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NATO and US security services have summoned some Russians for interacting with officials abroad, the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said in an appearance on TV.

Zakharova added that in certain NATO countries, such as Poland, the United States, and the Baltic countries, special services representatives at airports would approach people who had been regularly interacting with our diplomats under completely normal, open principles, in an attempt to determine their list of contacts.

She went on to say that over the past months, Russians have been openly persecuted around the world and continuously attacked by hackers.

"The fact is, this 'blockade' is not provisional or virtual, it is a most real and tangible one," she said, adding, "What is now being done not even against diplomats, but simply citizens of our country, ethnic Russians, is a fast-spreading persecution across many countries of the world that is even devoid of any political overtones."

Non-stop spreading of fake stories and the replication of utter propaganda have been bringing out the worst in some people, warned Zakharova.

She noted that the West continues to push its own population to the brink of nationalist "insanity" through manipulating information via social networks, media, messenger, and mailing lists.

Thus, Moscow has urged countries where Russia's embassies are accredited to comply with obligations under the conventions on consular and diplomatic relations, the Russian Foreign Ministry's Spokesperson added.

West carrying out massive propaganda to portray Russia as enemy: US activist

Both NATO and the United States have mounted a massive propaganda campaign to make Russia the enemy in the eyes of the West, American activist Phil Wilayto told Sputnik. 

"I think the US and NATO have carefully carried out a massive propaganda campaign against Russia that has led most people in the West to unthinkingly accept the narrative that Russia is an enemy country run by a brutal dictator with expansionist ambitions," Wilayto, a co-founder of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality and coordinator of the Odessa Solidarity Campaign, said.

Wilayto holds the US and NATO responsible for the situation in Ukraine. 

Media around the world launching war against Russia

Days ago, as part of the campaign of sanctions against Russia after its military operation in Ukraine, Google Europe has blocked Youtube channels connected to RT and Sputnik across Europe "effective immediately."

Yesterday, the BBC, CNN, ABC News, CBS News, and Bloomberg suspended operations in Russia owing to the "fake news" law, which they characterized as an attempt to punish independent media.

Italy's public television channel RAI also decided to suspend reporting from Russia after the legislation was enacted in Moscow, backing the imposition of jail terms on media publishing "false information" about the military.

Moscow says the measure is vital to combat anti-Russian propaganda that is bombarding internet users.

Russia launched a special operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine, in response to requests from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics for assistance in combating Ukrainian troops' aggression. The special operation is only targeting Ukrainian military facilities, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, and the civilian population is not at risk. Moscow has stated that it has no intention of occupying Ukraine.

Despite the Ukrainian leadership's pleas, the US and NATO have declined to intervene directly in the conflict.